2003 Ursa Major Awards

The 2003 Ursa Major Awards ceremony was held on Saturday, June 5, 2004, at the Chimo Hotel in Ottawa, Ontario during the festivities of C-ACE 2004. It was the first ceremony to be held after the demise of ConFurence, the first to be organized by the ALAA rather than the now-defunct ConFurence Group, the first to allow for public participation in both nomination and voting, and the first (and, as of 2010, only) ceremony to be held outside of United States territory.

The nominations process was publicly available to all Internet users from February 1 to March 15, 2004; for the first time, nominations could be sent through an online form at the Ursa Major Awards website, as well as by postage mail or email to Fred Patten[1]. The voting process, held from April 2 to April 20, was, for the first time, made available for public participation, with over 300 ballots being printed and mailed to participants at a number of conventions.

Newshounds, by Thomas K. Dye. (Internet, daily, 2003 strips from January 1 to December 31)

Nip and Tuck, by Ralph E. Hayes, Jr. (Internet, semi-weekly, 2003 strips from January 2 to December 30)

Norm & Cory, by Andrew Kaiko. (Internet, irregular, 2003 strips from May 1 to December 29)

Rainbow's End, by Katie Popp. (Internet, weekly, 2003 strips from February 7 to March 27)

Room for One More, by Brittany Greatbear. (Internet, thrice-weekly, 2003 strips from January 1 to December 29; artist from August 1, Oren Otter)

Scrued, by Melissa Jewell. (Internet, irregular, 2003 strips from January 2 to September 5)

SpellShocked, by Benjamin Yackley, Charles Caffrey and Mark Freid. (Internet, semi- monthly, 2003 strips from January 1 [#49] to April 1 [#54]; from April 28 [#1] weekly by Yackley alone to August 4 [#10])

The Suburban Jungle, starring Tiffany Tiger, by John Robey. (Internet, tri-weekly, 2003 strips from January 1 to December 26)

Tales of the Questor, by Ralph E. Hayes, Jr. (Internet, weekly, 2003 strips from January 5 to December 31)

Terebinth, by Michael H. Payne. (Magazine: Yarf!, irregular, 2003 issues from #66, January, to #69, September. Also the Internet, tri- or semi-weekly, 2003 issues are reprints to #104 and original from #105 [November 25] to #117 [December 29])

Under the Lemon Tree, by Ralph E. Hayes, Jr. (Internet, semi-weekly, 2003 strips from January 1 to December 31)

The World of Vicki Fox, by Laura Howell & Michael Russell; and Shelley Pleger (#60+). (Internet, semi-monthly, 2003 strips from January 12 [#58] to January 26 [#59]; April 13 [#60] to December 28 [#77])